With a little help from the others
by TheCurlymop
Summary: Kitty and Thomas aren't talking to each other after the events of ep 4 but with the intentional and unintentional help of some other people will they work it out?
1. Chapter 1

**(1)**

Miles is looking at the shift list for the week when he notices that next to his name as the on call doctor for the afternoon is Trevelyan as the nurse. His brain ticks over this for a few minutes before deciding that he really should help his friend out. Thomas has been miserable since whatever happened that evening and Miles doesn't think that the discovery that it was him who took Kitty to the town unchaperoned helped. Miles may seem like an indifferent annoying man but he does actually care about Thomas, especially when he's been in such a foul mood lately that remaining in a tent with him is beginning to strain even Miles' incredibly relaxed nerves. Somehow he needs to frame it so that Thomas doesn't realise until it's too late.

The evening before the great switch, Miles begins complaining of symptoms that Thomas can't ignore. A few minutes later, yowling in protest, Miles is sat on a camp stool being used as a pin cushion. The things he does for his friend never cease to amaze him. The thing is that the mercury injection doesn't exactly make you feel good and Miles knows that Thomas will feel guilty for inflicting that on him. So it's almost certain that Thomas will offer half-heartedly to cover Miles' shift and Miles will of course accept, leading Thomas to think he is feeling much worse than he is.

That afternoon, everything is in place, Miles is curled up on his camp bed wishing he'd thought of another way of achieving his plan and Thomas is complaining that Miles wasn't supposed to accept and it's all his own fault anyway, Thomas warned him that he'd come back from town needing treatment.

The mercury reaction is unpleasant but passes fairly quickly, leaving Miles feeling lightheaded and hoping that at least Thomas got something pleasant out of the afternoon. His hopes are dashed when Thomas comes back grumbling about the silly VAD who wouldn't stop wittering about her soldier boyfriend and 'did he have a girlfriend?'

Miles decides to avoid interfering further; someone is clearly working against him.

**(2)**

Flora's new found love has made her, she thinks, especially sensitive to others in the same situation. Now that she, newly kissed, is in love, she can see all the signs that she couldn't before. Sister Livesey is clearly pining for her fiancé and Rosalie has obviously never been in love, she is quite the blushing innocent when faced with even the slightest hint of nudity. Kitty is a puzzle though. On the one hand she seems removed from the world of flirtation but on the other, her eyes stray often to the handsome Captain Gillan and Flora has noticed him glancing back in the same manner.

Flora's happiness needs to be shared, she wants Kitty to be as happy as she is and surely an afternoon spent in the company of the handsome doctor will help her on her way. To be sure, he's not the kind of man she could fall in love with but now she's got Charlie, she doesn't need to think like that.

Flora eagerly scans the shift lists for the next week, hoping for an opportunity to put her plan to work and arranges to swap shifts with two other nurses so that when she swaps with Kitty, Kitty will end up on Captain Gillan's afternoon. It's genius. She on the other hand will be working with Captain Hesketh-Thorne which isn't a hardship in itself.

Imagine Flora's disappointment when she goes to her shift and instead of the dashing Miles, she encounters the grumpy Captain Gillan. She doesn't know what's happened but all she can think is that all her scheming was for nothing and it was very inconsiderate of Miles to be ill. She just hopes that when Captain Gillan spends time with Kitty and they fall in love, he will be nicer to her than he was to Flora because he told her to shut up no less than ten times which was very rude.

* * *

Hello my lovelies, thank you so much for your reviews, it's really helped me keep writing other stuff for you! In case you didn't realise, this is a sort of 5+1 fic though some parts are longer than others so I've made it into (I think) 4 chapters? It's all written so keep an eye out for the updates, most likely one each day.

Reviews make my little heart go pitter patter in case you were wondering :)


	2. Chapter 2

**(3)**

Flora tries again of course. It's a challenge and plus, she wants to see them together to see if her newly tuned matchmakers instincts are correct. This time she enlists Rosalie to help although she hasn't really forgiven her for the comments about Charlie.

Matron has been quite busy of late and she often asks a VAD or nurse to hand out letters to the staff rather than doing it herself. It's easy for letters to get tucked into one another, the week before, Flora had received not only a letter from her mother but also one addressed to Sister Livesey and this is what put the idea into her head.

As planned, Rosalie is loitering outside when the post arrives and when Matron rescues it from the staff postbag she looks around for a willing victim. Just in case, Flora times her walk across the quad so that Matron has either of them to choose from. Either way, Flora is the one who will do the handing out of the post so it doesn't really matter. As hoped, Matron picks Rosalie but because there is rather a lot of post, she calls to Flora too. Stage one of the plan is complete, now they just have to hope that both Kitty and Captain Gillan have post.

After a few minutes of sorting, they are in luck. Flora quickly tucks the letter for the captain into Kitty's and puts the whole lot into her apron. She and Rosalie divide the rest of the post between them and quickly hand them out. Half the post isn't really that much and soon Flora is ready to put the final part of her plan in action. Across the quad she sees Kitty and walking over to her she hands her the letter.

'I hope it's good news,' she calls as she walks away quickly. With any luck, Kitty won't realise she's got another letter too until it's too late. She hears nothing from Kitty and allows herself a small victorious smile.

'What are you smiling for Marshall? There are bedpans needing to be scrubbed. Go.' Sister Quayle is always an effective killer of happiness but as Flora heads off for bedpan duty there is still an extra spring in her step that even the terrifying sister cannot quash.

Kitty slips the letter into her pocket without glancing at it. The last letter she'd received hadn't exactly been pleasant to read so she saves this one for a time when if it makes her cry, no-one will notice. She spends the rest of the day with it burning in her pocket so that by the end of her shift she is resolved to open it even if it upsets her. Her confusion when she discovers that she's been carrying not only her own letter but also Captain Gillan's doesn't last long. Flora thinks she's so clever, she clearly thought that Kitty would rush to give it to the Captain straight away. She waits until supper and then walks over to the table where Miles and Captain Gillan are sitting. While Miles greets her amiably, Captain Gillan looks at her with no expression in his eyes, such a contrast to when she last looked at him.

'This was mixed in with my post.' She slides the letter towards him and turns away. She's not sure if she can cope with his blank expression if he decides to say thank you.

Flora watches in dismay at the almost wordless exchange and wonders if her career as a matchmaker will be profitable after all.

* * *

Hope you're enjoying it so far, a little review goes a long way ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**(4)**

Joan had offered to help the VADs develop their skills almost as soon as she had arrived. It seemed silly to have three perfectly able women in the hospital that couldn't do certain things just because there had been no time to train them. She suspected that Matron had forgotten all about it by the time she was called in to the office to explain to her what she thought she could teach the girls in an afternoon. Matron stressed that this was intended to help the hospital, which was still woefully understaffed, rather than inspire the girls to train properly as nurses. Joan offered to spend an afternoon checking on the skills they ought to have been taught in their original training before starting on anything else and resolved to make a plan for what else she could teach them after the first session happened. It seemed that Matron had also noticed that some of the VADs were lacking important basic skills because she agreed readily to Joan's plan, offering Wednesday afternoon for the first session.

For Joan's plans to work, she needed some volunteers to act as patients. Once word got out that it was in order to train the VADs she was pretty sure she wouldn't be lacking in volunteers so she left that to the gossip mills of the hospital and focussed instead on working out what the VADs should already know. She knew that Flora's bed making skills left a lot to be desired and after the fiasco with Rosalie and the bed baths that was off the list. She didn't know how good any of them were at bandaging so that went on the list along with a revision of bed making and general ward rules. By the end of the day she was amused to have ten volunteers from among the staff of the hospital offering themselves up to the tender mercies of the VADs. From the ten she picked Corporal Foley for Flora – they were known to be friends, Miles for Rosalie – she guessed he'd be hoping for Kitty but hopefully he'd help Rosalie loosen up a little, and Captain Gillan for Kitty – she wasn't quite sure how that would turn out but he didn't seem the sort to be overly flirtatious which she knew Kitty wasn't keen on. All in all she was happy with her plan.

On Wednesday afternoon the VADs trooped to the empty ward at the end of the row as they had been instructed. Some were happier than others at this break in routine. After a quick check that their knowledge of ward rules was adequate, Joan moved on to bandaging techniques, glad that Foley had been able to get there a little earlier than the others to be a test subject. The captains arrived nicely just as they were ready to do their own bandaging and Joan caught her breath at Captain Gillan's face. As soon as he saw Kitty he changed from unemotional to, well, thunderous was the best description, as he seized Miles' arm and dragged him out of earshot. That he didn't want to be there was obvious but Joan needed test subjects and they were there now. She prepared herself to intervene but with a sigh of relief she saw that Miles had managed to calm his friend down and they were heading back towards the others, Gillan still looking annoyed and Miles his usual cheery self.

'We've come to be bandaged ladies,' he announced with a cheeky smile, 'Which of you am I lucky enough to be nursed by then?'

Joan moved swiftly forward, pairing the nurses with their subjects as she had planned and trying to ignore the daggers Gillan was shooting at her when she paired him with Kitty. He sat without complaint but he wasn't happy about it.

Within half an hour Flora's bandaging had been approved and she was working on her bed making skills with the assistance of Peter, laughing uproariously as they went. Joan knew the child had fallen for that young private the week before and she was glad to see that his absence wasn't affecting Flora's usually cheery mood too much. Miles was doing valiant work with Rosalie, giving her gentle pointers on her technique and telling her silly stories about his childhood which may or may not have been true. Joan was just grateful that he had realised that she really wouldn't respond well to any of his riper stories and so was sticking to childhood ones. The only ones who were noticeably silent were Gillan and Kitty. She knew she could call him Thomas but really it's only Miles who does that, only Miles who dares. To call him something other than Captain Gillan seems to imply a closeness that he really doesn't encourage. He was being perfectly helpful to Kitty, raising his arms but not giving her pointers as Miles was doing for Rosalie and without any of the jokes and smiles. He looked rather robotic and Kitty didn't look much happier.

She moved away to check on Flora's progress and caught Kitty's expression out of the corner of her eye. Instead of the passive boredom of before she looked as if she'd been electrocuted for a moment before she schooled herself back to impassivity. Joan eyed them closely and saw Gillan's hand slipping from hers where it had been guiding her in splinting his wrist. So that was it is it? She wondered what had happened to make them so grumpy with each other though. They clearly had more than just annoyance with each other between them so perhaps the enforced closeness would help them get over it. With that thought in mind she left them to it. They were perfectly capable of sorting out their own differences she was sure. They're both so strong minded that it might take a while but she thinks that they'd work well together, perhaps be 'right' as so few couples were. Briskly she moved her thoughts on and dismissed Rosalie, whose bandaging, never bad, had improved greatly with Miles' guidance.

After a few more minutes she gives in and dismisses Flora and Kitty too. Flora will never be good a bed making but Kitty's bandaging is perfectly adequate. All of them had improved over the afternoon so she ticks it off as a success and tries to stop worrying about Thomas and Kitty. It serves as a good distraction from her own worries but if they are meant to be together they'll work it out themselves.

* * *

How are we feeling today? Will Kitty and Thomas sort themselves out as Joan hopes?

I seem to find Joan much harder to write than the others... this is probably the chapter I like least but you can have it anyway my dears :)

EDIT thanks to MaxRide05 for pointing out my tense issues, I hope I've corrected at least some of them!


	4. Chapter 4

**4 and a bit**

Thomas hadn't spoken to Miles since they'd left the ward after bandaging practice a few hours before. Miles had quite enjoyed himself actually, after a shaky start he'd tried some of his childhood anecdotes on Rosalie and by then end of the afternoon he'd had her eating from the palm of his hand - metaphorically of course.

But while he'd been chattering away to Rosalie as if he hadn't a care in the world, he'd actually been keeping a very close eye on Thomas and Kitty. When he'd volunteered them, he'd merely seen it as an opportunity, a way of getting them into the same room as each other and seeing if they'd perhaps thawed towards each other, even if only a little. The conclusion was not, but there had been an interesting moment when they'd touched accidentally. He felt that there was definitely potential and he had to hand it to Joan for pairing them together. If he'd been paired with Kitty he'd probably have spent the time either talking to her about Thomas and finding out how she felt or flirting so much that he'd have made the man declare himself out of jealousy. That would have been an interesting end to the afternoon but the effect on their friendship would probably have been the same. It was odd not having a response to his wittering, Thomas usually only grunted anyway but now it was like talking to a brick wall rather than the usual bovine creature he impersonated.

Miles knew that at some point Thomas would crack. He was good at keeping his annoyances bottled up but Miles had a feeling that all that indignation would come pouring out in his direction pretty soon. Sure enough, he watches interestedly as Thomas clenches and unclenches his fists a few times before apparently coming to a decision and turning to face him.

'You did that on purpose,' he accuses, 'don't think I don't realise what you're up to. You're trying to push us together. I bet that ridiculous stunt with the mercury was all part of your plan too, though I don't know why you were so keen to get me alone with that chatterbox. It's not going to work Miles. She doesn't want…' He breaks off, catching his breath, 'no, that's not right, she doesn't want anyone. It's not fair on either of us Miles.'

Thomas leaves the tent quickly, striding off into the quickly falling darkness leaving Miles to reflect on what he has just heard.

Miles is honestly stunned. He thinks that's probably the most he's ever heard Thomas say at one time. The thing is that he had been doing this for fun really, he'd known that Kitty and Thomas might be good for each other but he hadn't suspected that Thomas was already in so deep. Thomas was in love with Kitty and for reasons he wasn't too clear on, Kitty had rejected him. Or, to be accurate, she had rejected the idea of anything happening with anyone if Miles was to understand Thomas correctly.

* * *

Thomas sits on the edge of the dunes staring out into the dark. The sound of the waves is instantly calming but the thoughts racing around his mind counteract that somewhat. The lantern he grabbed is attracting moths and other bugs and he watches them flutter, thinking that if he were a poet, he could probably create a poem on the similarities between the insects attracted to the light and him, attracted to Kitty. The only difference was that he didn't think that Kitty would cause him to die if he got too close. His heart had been beating ridiculously fast that night he'd almost kissed her but where it should have made him feel close to fainting, it only made him feel more alive.

He sighs. He had resolved never to think of that night again and yet here he was, remembering every detail of her face, he'd been so close he could see the freckles that dotted her nose and the shadows her eyelashes created on her cheeks. The thing is, he could also remember the look in her eyes, wary, distrustful, before she'd said what had caused him to stop.

'I came here to work, not to get entangled.'

The words echo around his head. The thing is, she'd looked surprised when he'd stopped. Relieved too, but surprised. He didn't really want to think about what had caused that reaction. He knew that many men didn't treat women well but he didn't want to think of Kitty in any kind of situation which may have left her with that kind of reaction. All he could think was that he wanted her to trust him. If that meant he never touched her again then he would put up with that torture. It was worse torture not talking to her and pretending she didn't exist when he saw her every day. Now he knew that part of it was Miles pushing them together but he saw her all the time anyway. It was like he had an innate sense for when she was near to him and she seemed to be near him much more than he would like if he was supposed to be ignoring her.

'You shouldn't be out here… who is it? Oh.'

He hadn't moved as she approached but he'd known it was her from the first syllable that she had spoken.

'Captain Gillan, I thought you were a patient. I'm sorry, I'll go. Sorry for…'

'Stay. I wanted to talk to you anyway, if I may.'

She had paused in turning away from him and now she turned back and walked a little closer before sitting on the other side of the lamp, tucking her feet up under her skirt and looking pensively out to where the waves still rolled in and out incessantly.

To his surprise, she starts. 'Flora's been playing matchmaker.'

He begins to laugh, startling her. 'So has Miles.'

Her smile stretches and her eyes dance in enjoyment of the situation. 'We had no choice in the matter did we,' she muses. 'Somehow they'd have got to us. I've told her that she has to stop. Actually I told her after the letter prank, I suppose the bandaging was Miles?'

'That and the shift swapping, though I think Flora may have got in the way on that one.'

She lets out a few chuckles thinking about the lengths their friends had gone to in order to push them together and then falls silent again. She can't help thinking of what happened to make them need that kind of pushing.

'I'm sorry about that night. I encouraged you and I shouldn't have. It was cruel of me.'

He looks up at her and his eyes seem to see through her bravado. 'No. It was me. I could see that you weren't happy being near me and I shouldn't have trapped you like that. It scared me that I could make someone look like that.'

'Like what?' she asks tentatively.

'Like they regret being there, like they're not sure they're going to get away. I don't want to see you look like that again.'

She sees that somehow he's put some of her history together and breathes a sigh of relief. At least she won't have to tell him everything right now, she can wait until she feels more comfortable.

'I want… I want us to be friends. I want us to be able to have a civilised conversation. I don't mind if that's all that ever happens between us but I've been miserable being angry all this time and I want it to stop.'

He hopes she can hear the sincerity in his voice. He's given her no reason to doubt him so far.

When she replies, it's so quiet he can hardly hear it.

'I'd like that, I think.'

* * *

So this is an added chapter which means that if I post a chapter each day, the last one will be uploaded on Saturday which is a nice lead up to Sunday and the next episode! Who's excited? I know I am :)


	5. Chapter 5

**(5)**

There's a roar of anger and the next thing she knows, Captain Gillan is storming out of the theatre and marching towards the beach. Miles runs out behind him shouting, 'Tom, Thomas!' He shakes his head. 'Idiot! He takes these things far too personally.'

Grace sighs and looks around for someone to get the captain back. Ordinarily she would leave him to stew for a bit and let him come back of his own accord but today they need all the surgeons they can use and he is one of them. They can't afford to waste the time he will take to calm down on his own and they also can't afford to send Miles out after him. It needs to be someone expendable, someone whose absence won't cause greater problems. She sees the blue of a VAD uniform and has an idea. Thankfully it's Trevelyan and not one of the others; she's the only one who will stand up to the captain. It's a very annoying trait most of the time but today it's going to come in handy for once.

'Trevelyan!' she barks, causing several patients to jump and wince, 'Come here!'

Kitty sighs. She'd hoped that she could get through today without attracting Matron's wrath but apparently not. She checks her uniform absently as she walks over, knowing her luck there was something wrong with her appearance which would necessitate correction in front of all the officers and patients. But then Matron surprises her.

'Trevelyan, I appreciate that this is a little unusual but it is necessary for the smooth running of the hospital so please don't argue. I need you to go and get a cup of strong tea, perhaps with a slug of whiskey in it and take it down to the beach where Captain Gillan is currently sulking. Then I need you to calm him and make him return to his post. Is that clear?'

Kitty thinks that there is probably only one answer, the steely glint in Matron's eye reminds her of that. 'Yes Matron.'

She quickly gathers the tea and after a moment's thought she tucks the whiskey bottle into her pocket, he might prefer it neat after all. Captain Gillan is prone to outbursts of temper, everyone knows that, it's because he's so insulted when one of his patients has the nerve to die but this is the first time she's heard of someone being sent to get him back. She supposes desperate times call for desperate measures or something like that. Otherwise, why is she being sent?

Climbing over the dunes is hard while trying not to spill the tea and she is looking down at where she is treading so doesn't see the captain until it is almost too late and he narrowly escapes being soaked with hot tea.

She'd expected him to be right by the water but technically he's still on the path. He's panting harshly and she's almost sure she can hear a sob or two. He always takes the deaths so personally, she wonders what happened to make him like that. She clears her throat, he won't thank her for sneaking up on him, and he straightens.

'Go back to work Miles. You're no use here.'

'It's not Miles,' she says softly, 'it's Kitty. I've brought tea, or whiskey if you prefer?'

He laughs harshly, 'give me the bottle and go away. I don't need you here and surely they could use your help folding the blankets and shaking out pillows?'

His comments sting. The other officers and some of the nurses are rude about the VADs, often right in front of them, but Miles always defends them, Thomas usually behind him implying rather than speaking his support. But she has been sent to do a job, even if he doesn't want her there. She's just not quite sure what approach to take.

Silently she holds out the bottle towards him and he turns, a look of surprise on his face. She shrugs and goes to take it away again but he is quick enough to grab it and holds it, their fingers brushing together until she releases it gently. Looking around, she sees a comfortable looking patch of grass and sits down, sipping the tea demurely and waiting for him to sit with her which he does, looking more confused than annoyed by now.

He swigs from the bottle and she finishes her tea, silently watching the waves roll in, not acknowledging how close together they are sitting as their elbows brush now and then.

After a few minutes he begins to speak, his soft brogue mixing with the sound of the waves in a dreamy lullaby that will weave in and out of her sleep.

'When I was about 6 I rescued a bird. It had fallen from the nest and was unable to fly so I picked it up and tried to nurse it back to health. I tried everything, different foods, a cotton wool nest, I placed its box next to the stove so it didn't get too cold, fed it milk from an eye dropper. But nothing worked. It died that evening. I wanted to become a doctor to stop people dying. But sometimes I can't and they die. They die with my hands on them and I feel the life leaving them and I don't know why. That's the worst part. The unexplained deaths, no cause, no reason, it just happens.'

She tries to imagine a small boy with Thomas' blue, blue eyes and puzzled brow. Now, with him staring at her with all this sadness in his eyes, he looks simultaneously so young and yet incredibly ancient. She feels a rush of sympathy for this man, boy really, who just wants to fix things, to make men whole again and can't cope when it doesn't work.

Their fingers brush together again, once, twice, three times is no coincidence and when they brush again she opens her hand and catches his. They sit for a while longer, her chilly hand in his larger warm one, and stare out to sea. He is calm again and knows he needs to get back to work but first he will savour these few lovely minutes with her. Somewhere along the way their previous annoyances with each other have been forgotten and there is peace between them again.

They can't stay there forever though and she feels the atmosphere change as his body tenses up again. He is withdrawing, becoming the captain rather than Thomas and she finds she doesn't like the transformation much. He gets to his feet and uses their clasped hands to help her up as well. The teacup and the whiskey go into her apron pockets and they walk back to the camp. Just before they turn the corner where they will become visible to everyone he gives her hand a squeeze and releases it, squaring off his shoulders and walking off without a second glance. She stands for a moment, still feeling the ghost of his hand round hers and then sees Matron looking towards her approvingly. Seems she's managed to do something right at least.

* * *

YAY! just the little epilogue to go! Thank you all who have read this far or who have joined recently, those who have reviewed, especially if you've reviewed every chapter - you have influenced my writing more than you know. I'm off to eat cake, but I made it, unlike Sister Quayle...


	6. Chapter 6

**(+1)**

A few days later, she's smoking a little way away from the men when it happens.

'Do you have free time this afternoon?'

The words seem strangely familiar and slowly she makes the connection. She wonders if he's doing it on purpose and then dismisses the thought. Of course he's doing it on purpose. She's spent enough time with him by now, partly thanks to the machinations of everyone around them, whether on purpose or not, to know that Thomas thinks through everything in minute detail before doing it.

She thinks back to what she said that first time.

'Yes, I was going to do some darning, maybe tidy the tent.' She glances up at him and catches the end of a smile. He knows she knows what he's doing and he likes it.

'Would you meet me?' The words are whispered close to her ear and she thinks she can feel a warm hand on her back, not hard enough to alarm, just there, waiting for acceptance.

She turns her body slightly, not enough to raise anyone's suspicion, just enough for him to feel her tucking herself into the curve of his arm. She's not looking at him but she can feel the flutter of his breath moving past her hair.

'Yes.' She murmurs, smiling gently. 'The woods? 2 o'clock?'

He nods and his hand on her back lingers for a moment, as if he's forgotten where he was going.

'Until then,' she hears as he moves away, the only indication that he was so close to her is the cold patch on her back where his hand was resting so warmly.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I've really enjoyed chatting with the people who've sent me reviews so far and it would be lovely to hear what you think, either of this chapter or the story as a whole. I think it's honestly the longest thing I've ever finished!


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